Harvest Sunday 2018Sunday, November 4th

Harvest Sunday is an annual tradition at St. Margaret Mary and in other parishes in the Naperville area. Every year, we ask the community to join with us in supporting local food pantries. Last year, we collected over 500 boxes or 17,000 pounds of food through the generosity of the people within our parish boundaries. You can learn more about their good work at Loaves & Fishes and Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry. If you are interested in volunteering this year, please contact the Youth Ministry Office by phone or email. You can also volunteer as a Junior High Parent. If you are a High School Parent, please be sure to get in touch with your teen's Chosen Leader to see how you can best assist their group!

If you would like to donate food, please bring it to the Parish Center between 1:30-2:30PM on Sunday, November 4th.

Junior High youth and parents are invited to join us in the Parish Center at 1PM to begin assembling boxes. They will also help sort food and pack the boxes to be taken back to the food pantries. Parents are encouraged to join us and help!

Instructions for Leaders

Groups will distribute the door hangers on homes in their zones on Sunday, October 28th and return to pickup the food donations on Sunday, November 4th. On both Sundays, have your teens and drivers meet and disperse from the SMMP parking lot. Please do not begin your pick-up until 1PM at the earliest because that is what the door-hangers say.

Our parish boundaries are divided up into 13 "zones." You can check out your zone by going to the Google Map. Please follow the boundary lines drawn for you on the map as your primary resource. If your zone covers one side of the street, only collect from houses on that side. If your boundary ends at an intersection, please stop there. Some of the houses near our areas are covered by other parishes. Please make sure to distribute door hangers to every house, townhouse, or apartment in your zone.

To help you further, you can also use the Harvest Sunday Zone Spreadsheet. The spreadsheet will tell you all the streets included in your zone and how many houses are on each street. This document is updated every year, so if you find any errors, please let us know. Please count the number of houses that you go to on each street and count the number of fliers that you have left. Compare this to the list and let us know if there are any discrepancies.

Chosen group leaders are responsible for finding parents to drive the youth in their group. We suggest having at least 3-4 vehicles per group each week that are able to safely transport enough youth and food. Only adults who have completed the Medical, Chaperone and Transportation Forms are eligible to drive. Youth are required to complete the Youth Permission Form in order to participate. The Chaperone and Transportation Forms should be turned into the Youth Ministry Office prior to Harvest Sunday. The Medical Forms and Youth Permission Forms should be in the vehicle that the teen is riding in and turned into the Youth Ministry Office after Harvest Sunday.

When you bring food back to St. Margaret Mary, it should be brought down to the Parish Center for sorting. Please make sure all food is picked up from your designated area. Once you complete pickups, please have the teens come into the Parish Center to help sort, load, and clean up.

No one should leave until they are dismissed by the Director of Youth Ministry.All leaders must check-in that their area is finished by turning in their folders!

Please act in a respectful and safe manner throughout this event. Youth should follow the instructions of their adults leaders and chaperones. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Youth Ministry Office at 630-369-0777 or 630-448-0777 after office hours. You can also email Dan, Caitlin, Arlene, or Debbie with any questions.